Sunderbans

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Sundarbans National Park is a sprawling tangle of mangrove swamp and is the only one of its kind in the world. Spread over 54 islands, extending into the neighbouring country of Bangladesh, a large part of the area is home to a 2,585 square kilometre Tiger Reserve, which includes a 1,330 square kilometre national park. Encompassing three wildlife sanctuaries, one within the national park at Sajnekhali, as well as south of the park at Lothian Island and Haliday Island, the mangroves are riddled with a large variety of birds, mammals and reptiles including the Royal Bengal Tiger, wild boar, spotted deer, jungle fowl, giant lizard, crocodile, Siberian ducks during migration and even some endangered species like the Batagur baska, king crab and Olive Ridley turtle. The people here depend primarily on agriculture and live in adjoining villages. The Sundarbans National Park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage in 1987 and the Sundarbans region as a whole was declared a Biosphere Reserve in 1989.